Paul could see her awed expression on her face, and he had to contain an amused smile. When he felt he had started the fire, he flattened his hands so his palms were facing the sky. “Stand back,” he instructed Mandy gently. She obeyed him, and then watched with absolute fascination as Paul brought his hands close to his lips, and then blew.
And then, right before Mandy’s eyes, flames sprouted from Paul’s long fingers and began to dance along them. She couldn’t fully believe what she was seeing, couldn’t believe that fire was touching Paul’s skin in such a hypnotic way. Was it possible that this was some kind of trick? Even if it was, Mandy couldn’t help but be impressed. The dance only lasted for a moment, if that, and then, with a snap of his fingers, the flame disappeared, leaving only soft smoke behind.
Without truly thinking about what she was doing, Mandy took a step towards Paul. She was only a few inches from his body now, a brilliant smile on her face, taking the demon aback. He didn’t know humans had the ability to smile like that. But what caught him off even more was the fact that Mandy reached out and wrapped her long fingers around his, as though she had to feel for herself that his fingers were indeed real, that there was no trick hidden between them. But all she felt was soft flesh, warmer than normal due to the fact that the embers had flickered across them. She believed, he realized. If there was any doubt left in her, it had completely disappeared now.
“How did you do that?” she said in a voice just above a whisper, as though she was afraid someone outside might overhear. It was impossible, she knew, but then again, she thought demons were just bad guys to angels being good. Sunday schools needed both in order to make lessons. Paul was real, a demon.
This time, Paul did not hold back the small, amused smile that touched his lips, and tilted his head towards her. If his hair was longer, the red locks would have fallen into his face, but since his hair was short, it didn’t matter. “Magic,” he told her, capturing her eyes once again with his.
“You really are a fallen angel.” Mandy had to say it aloud to make it real for herself, and as she spoke them, she realized the truth in them. He was what he said he was. There was no more arguing now, and it would simply be foolish to deny it when he had shown her proof before her eyes, as though his wings weren’t enough.
“Yes,” he told her, nodding his head once. He was glad she finally realized the point because now she might actually believe what he had told her about being in danger. The war, was in fact, real, but it was harder to explain than being a demon. At least he had his fire and his wings to back his story up.
Mandy tilted her head gently to the side, her mind racing with too many questions to say all at once. However, when her eyes flickered back over to Paul, only one managed to escape from her mouth, and she realized as she asked it that it was probably the biggest one she wanted to know of. “Can you ever be human?” she asked him quietly, afraid that she might offend him if the answer was no.
He had told her this, but maybe she hadn’t fully understood, her eyes too preoccupied with the fact that he could fly. Paul was actually incredibly patient when the situation called for it, and since this particular situation was important, his patience was sent into overtime. “Yes,” he told her, nodding his head once.
“How?” she asked him. It was as though the entire world had fallen away from her and it was solely the two of them now. Time faded, and work didn’t matter. Hell, she didn’t even remember that she was supposed to be wary of him.
“By doing a specific favor for my master,” he told her, his pale blue eyes holding onto her emerald eyes, hoping now that he had her full attention, his words would sink in.
Mandy pursed her lips, as though she was afraid to ask the next question, but after a moment of silent thought, she decided to ask it anyways. “Who’s your master?” Her voice was quiet now, though, soft as a whisper, unsure if this master could overhear them, unsure if Paul was supposed to be sharing this at all with her.
Paul strained a smile, but in a blink of an eye, it disappeared from his face completely. “A story for another time,” he told her, and even though his voice was gentle, Mandy knew better than to question him or push him. She would trust him on his response, for now. “Now, this war.” He had decided to switch topics. “You must have heard about the natural disasters that have taken place these past few years; the hurricanes, the tsunamis, the earthquakes, the wildfires, yes?”
Mandy nodded, her eyes suddenly wide. “Are you saying that they aren’t so natural after all?” she asked him, a look of horror touching her features.
“Absolutely,” Paul said firmly. “This is war, and no one fights fair. This is why you are in grave danger, Amanda. You can see who the angels and who the demons are. You can see that these disasters aren’t caused by nature at all. However, if one side captures you, they can use you to their advantage while being a threat to another side.”
“But I haven’t picked a side,” Mandy explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I didn’t know about this war until just now. I’m on no side.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Paul told her. “You are still in danger.”
“And how do I fix that?” Mandy asked, her frustration flaring up in her words.
Paul hid an amused grin. “I can protect you,” he told her in a calm voice.
“Why do you even want to protect me?” Mandy wasn’t sure whether to feel flattered or suspicious, and since she really didn’t know much about Paul, she was going to go with the latter, demon or not.
“Because if I protect you,” he began, “then I get to be human.”
“Is that supposed to be some creepy dark pickup line?” Mandy asked, and though it should have sounded like some joke, her voice was too strained to make it so.
Paul smiled, and as he spoke, it actually stuck to his face. “I can guarantee you that it’s not,” he assured her, “but it is imperative you make a decision as soon as possible. The war is about to start.”
Six
“Listen,” Mandy said after a long moment. “I appreciate what you’ve done, I think. I’m not really that sure. I don’t know you at all. But I can’t not believe that you aren’t what you say. I get it. Angels and demons really do exist. But I’m not ready to make any decisions. Yet. Maybe never. I’m not sure. This is a lot to take in. It’s a lot to wrap my heard around – the fact that angels and demons are going into a war where innocent civilians – people that God supposedly created – are getting killed for the greater good. And I’m going to die by one side if I choose the other and I don’t even know why. I can see your wings. So what? That’s not exactly a big deal. I mean, how can I help it?” She stopped herself abruptly upon realizing that she was babbling. After taking a moment, she breathed in and released a long, steady breath. “I can’t make any sort of decision regarding this whole matter right now. I’m not sure when you should come back, if you should come back at all. I’m sorry.”
Paul somehow knew she would say something along these lines. It only made sense that she didn’t decide, that she didn’t believe the words of a complete stranger who also happened to be a demon. What he couldn’t possibly understand was that if she believed he really was what he said he was, why wouldn’t she believe that there was a war going on? War, whether she wanted to believe it or not, killed innocent civilians. There was no getting around that. However, it was her decision to stay or to come with him; though his Creator might have wanted to, Paul wouldn’t force her to come with him if she didn’t want to even if she was the One, the One who would change him into a human.
So he would leave, but he would make sure that he kept a watchful eye on her.
“I should leave then,” he said, taking a step back. His pale blue eyes glanced over at the ticking clock on the wall. The store would be opening soon anyways, and he really didn’t want to be here when it did. Too many people, too much noise to think.
Mandy didn’t say anything, didn’t nod, but her eyes told him that y
es, he should go.
Paul tilted his head down, telling her that he got the message, and turned. Just as his long fingers wrapped around the door, she said quickly, “I promise I’ll be careful.”
The demon glanced back at him, the corners of his lips sliding up into an amused smile. His eyes seemed to agree with her. “I’m sure you will,” he stated, and with that, he pushed the door open and disappeared into the breaking dawn.
Mandy watched him go, wanting nothing more than to call him back, wanting nothing more than to allow herself to trust him, but she couldn’t force something she didn’t feel. Who knew? Maybe she would believe him soon, and then he could whisk her away in protectiveness. Right now, she had a job to do. It wasn’t to end a war, it was to open a simple coffee shop.
Paul couldn’t get her out of his head as he walked back to his apartment. He couldn’t feel the cold, bitter morning, but he knew that because the sun was creeping up, what time of day it was. Unbeknownst to Mandy, Paul had managed to snap a decent picture of her in order to give it to his Creator. Before the Creator would agree to anything, He wanted to make sure the woman was good looking. Shallow yes, but understandable nevertheless.
Paul thought she was more than just some picture. She looked better in person than in this snapshot, but somehow, people always did. As he looked down at it, he couldn’t help but feel a strong sense of resistance when it came to actually bringing the young woman to him. He didn’t think he felt anything for her; it was much too soon for that, and like she had said, the two didn’t know each other whatsoever. But even he couldn’t deny that something about her drew him to her.
Mandy was alive, in every sense of the word. It wasn’t as though life was different movements, one after the other. She actually seemed to enjoy it, and it was easy for her to walk up to a stranger and ask about the wings protruding from his back. He wondered if someone important to her had passed on, and as a result, she had developed a deeper understanding of how to cherish being a human. Her spirit made her even more beautiful. Maybe that was why people looked better in person; a camera could never capture someone’s spirit, though it should be noted a few talented painters had accomplished such a feat back in the Renaissance time.
He wished that she wasn’t the One. Paul would have loved to pick her brain about what it was like to be alive, to be human. She could show him different things, take him different places. Just being around her caused his cool body to warm, if only a fraction.
No, he needed to stop thinking like that. He ran his fingers through his short, red locks and shut the door behind him. He placed the picture back on the coffee table and took a seat on his couch, knowing that once his presence was sensed by his Creator, there would be a meeting taking place which was why it was crucial Paul had a home with a fireplace.
She wouldn’t be his. He wasn’t even sure why he wanted her in the first place, but he needed to remind himself that she couldn’t be his. She was destined to be another’s, and that was that. Paul would deliver her to his Creator, he would be human, and then he wouldn’t need her anyways. He would be able to make his own friends, experience life in his own way. He didn’t need someone teaching him the ropes, whether or not he wanted her to.
His fireplace shook gently after another moment, and flames suddenly sprouted from nothing. Paul was so used to messages and meetings being transferred through the fire that he didn’t even jump upon seeing it. He knew exactly why the Creator was checking up on him personally; he wanted to know if Paul had made any progress.
The Devil was an impatient person.
Soon, a familiar face touched the flames, and cool, calculating blue eyes looked directly at Paul, impatience clearly embedded in them. Unconsciously, Paul felt his entire frame straighten and tense. It had been built in him since he was incredibly young to always have perfect posture when it came to being in the presence of a royal. He softly cleared his throat, and met his Creator’s eyes with his own, making sure not to reveal the thoughts he had been thinking just moments ago.
“Well?” Satan asked, his voice like liquid dark chocolate. He wasn’t demanding but inquiring, though the Creator never wasted times with preludes. “Have you found her yet?”
“I have,” Paul said, causing his Creator’s eyes to widen. It was as though Satan was expecting another ‘No, not yet’ or ‘I’ll be going to another city in order to see if she’s there.’ That wasn’t the case now. Paul leaned over and grabbed the picture of her, flipping it around so Satan could have a clear view of it. “Her name is Amanda, and she looks to be in her early to mid twenties. She works at The Coffee Bean just across from the Chinese Theatre.”
Satan’s eyes skimmed over the picture with the most diligent focus Paul had ever seen him acquire. Paul wasn’t exactly sure if that was a good sign or a bad sign.
“I like the way she looks,” Satan decided after a long moment, pulling his eyes from the photograph in order to look at Paul, giving her his small but not yet full approval. “Now tell me why you chose her for me. You must have your reasons, Paul. I know you are a very calculating demon. You remind me of myself, which is why I chose you for this task.”
Paul knew he would have to tell Satan of Mandy’s line of sight, though something inside of him wanted to withhold the information. Instead, tell him something that was complete bullshit about her looks or the way she spoke.
“She can see my wings, Sir,” Paul told him, his voice having just the slightest hint of hesitancy.
The Creator’s face tensed as his eyes penetrated Paul’s with obvious inquiries. “What?” he asked, his voice soft but sharp. “What did you say?”
“She can see my wings,” Paul repeated. “She can decipher between the angels and the demons, sir. That was how I knew she was the one.”
“Then she’s even more important to me than I initially realized,” Satan murmured, almost to himself rather than to Paul. “Bring her to me. If the angels get a hold of her… Well, she will be of no use to me dead.”
Seven
Rainy days usually weren’t as crowded as sunny days at the Coffee Bean, so it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise to see that nobody was around. Mandy’s eyes flickered around the store, stopping only when she saw Paul, sitting in the corner, reading a newspaper. She knew she shouldn’t have been surprised at the fact that he was there since it had been a week upon rejecting his offer of protection and he had been in every day. It was kind of creepy, if Mandy was being honest, but he never spoke to her, and he never forced her to do anything. She hadn’t seen him with a cell phone, so it wasn’t like he was taking weird, inappropriate pictures of her. Plus, her intuition wasn’t on alert when it came to Paul so she treated him like every other customer, and that was that.
Except, that wasn’t it. When Mandy had first set eyes on Paul, she knew she was attracted to him, and when she first heard him speak, her attraction to him only increased. She was starting to like him, but she wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do. He had said some pretty outlandish things that morning, but she had felt his fingers, had smelled the smoke, and even now, she could see those big, black beautiful wings. There were times when she caught herself staring at them, prompting her to question her decision about refusing his help. If he wasn’t lying about being a fallen angel, was it possible that he wasn’t lying about the impending war, the danger she was in?
Hell, now Mandy believed anything was possible, but she wasn’t so sure. She always lived better safe than sorry.
There were moments when she caught Paul looking at her even though he shouldn’t be. It wasn’t a typical glance; he would stare, his brow inquisitive, as though he didn’t understand her but wanted to somehow figure her out. There were times when she looked at Paul; not at his wings, but at his face – the freckles that camouflaged in with his pale skin, the way his pale blue eyes would darken every once in a while… And every time she looked at him, the part of her that wanted nothing more than to give into temptation and let him prot
ect her, make love to her, anything really, shouted loud enough to be heard.
But her determination was firm, and she wasn’t backing down without proof.
Mandy heard a snort beside her, and all thoughts regarding Paul and wars and sex instantly vanished from her mind. She glanced up from the corner of her eyes only to see Sarah standing there, leaning her weight on the broomstick she had been using only moments before.
“God, he’s here again?” she asked, her face contorted into a look of obvious annoyance. “I mean, I know we have regulars, but this guy is, like, too regular, you know?” Sarah looked over at her friend, expecting some kind of affirmation of what Sarah had just said, but saw a particular look on Mandy’s face caused her face to drop. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me. Do you like this guy?”
Mandy’s face immediately turned red at the accusation, and she knew that any sort of denial would do the exact opposite of what she might have hoped for. “Shut up,” she said, hoping Sarah didn’t do anything stupid. Sarah was one of the few people she knew in Los Angeles that actually stood up for what she wanted, whether she had people backing her up or not. The fact of the matter was that Sarah could piss quite a few people off; Mandy just hoped that Paul wasn’t one of those people, only because she liked looking at him every day. He was her regular eye candy.
Mandy’s answer basically confirmed Sarah’s suspicion. Sarah rolled her colorful eyes and glanced over at the man they happened to be talking about. “Hey Ginger!” she called, hoping to get Paul’s attention. Lo and behold, the tactic worked. Without waiting for another moment, Sarah walked around the counter and over to Paul, who had looked up at Sarah’s call, and was now currently holding her eyes within his.
Killing by Captivation: A Gods & Monsters Prequel (Gods & Monsters Trilogy Book 0) Page 3